In the resolution, board members stated the town “does not possess military equipment of the type known to be in use in other jurisdictions” and that it has “never accepted nor will accept or procure military arms and/or heavy armor for its police department now or in the future.”

Councilwoman Cathy Magarelli said the town budget would have to be amended for the weapons to be bought by police. “In view of the fact that [Ferguson] is town of about 20,000 ... and they have $4 million of equipment from the government ... it’s ridiculous to have that much armor for such a small town,” she said.

State police and National Guard members have been used in the St. Louis suburb to quell rioting since the Aug. 9 shooting death of Michael Brown by a Ferguson police officer. Protestors contend Brown was unarmed and responding to police commands when he was killed, with news agencies reporting he was struck by six bullets.

Wenk said town residents have questioned whether the same weapons seen in Ferguson are available in Woodstock. “Curiously, a number of people have been asking me in the past few days about [the resolution],” he said.

He added that the resolution was written after “images of police armed with machine guns mounted on armored vehicles, with personnel fully clothed in body armor, equipped with gas masks and tear gas being used against the citizens of Ferguson, Missouri, have been seen on television and in the newspapers.”